Late Nights
by arosequartz
Summary: It was another summer; this time in 1964. Clubs stayed open through midnight, cigarettes were smoked, a bottle of beer here and there. But there were also skies filled with stars, last minute sleepovers, weekend drives, heart melting love, and a handful of teens to go along with it.
1. Prologue

**ATTENTION! This is a SEQUEL to Follow The Tracks! I suggest you read that one before reading this, thanks so much for your love and support!**

**Here it is! The sequel to Follow The Tracks! I enjoyed writing that story so much I decided to take it upon myself and write about an important summer during their late teen years. It's gonna be so exciting and I already have the whole plot written out for myself! **

**Hope you enjoy!**

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She sat at her desk, hands rubbing her temples while a pile of neatly stacked papers sat beside her arm. Theresa Lachance was grading them, the tests that is, going through the pile exceptionally fast up until ten minutes ago.

They talked alright, her co-workers, whispering down the hallways or in a meeting room. The other staff would only spare but a pitiful or condescending stare, then return to business.

_Ignore it_, Theresa thought, scoffing towards the rumors and gossip in disgust. It wasn't like she had never been talked about before, in fact she was used to it. Still, their irritating words hit some soft spots, and she could feel anger flaring in her stomach — which in turn, only made her head throb more. She grimaced, frustrated that her thoughts ruled her head, creating unnecessary distractions.

_A break, that's it I need a break._ She grew tired, her mouth widening in a yawn. _Just twenty minutes_, she chided herself, and grabbed a pillow nearby, set it onto the desk, and lowered her head, quickly falling asleep. But right before she did, her thoughts quickly changed to the past; the summer of 1964.


	2. I'm Not Complaining

I watched the clock, my knee bouncing under the table, eager for the day to end. _Only three o'clock? Come on! _I heaved a sigh, suffering from the math problems that sat before me. Advanced Algebra officially couldn't get any worse. The class was silent, only the sound of pencils scratching on paper.

"I wish to let you guys finish," Mr. Grain announced, standing behind his desk to get the class's attention. "I'd like to remind you of our finals tomorrow." The whole room groaned, but he just calmly shook his head. "I know, I know, summer is already here, but please I hope you guys didn't procrastinate, about half of you got a D last semester." He maneuvered over to the chalkboard, and with the squeaky white chalk, he wrote, _FINALS TOMORROW! _Just as he set the chalk down, the bell rang, and a stampede of students rushed out the door. "Don't forget to study!", he shouted after them.

But I didn't hear a word, I was already at my locker, shoving a binder, textbook, and journal into a letterman's bag. Throwing it over my shoulder, I slammed the locker shut to find Charlotte Ranjel, my only female best friend, standing behind the door.

I jumped. "Stop doing that! You know it gives me a heart attack," I huffed, glaring and she laughed.

"But it's so much fun," she protested, and laughed some more. "Should've seen your face, it was priceless."

"Ha. Ha." I muttered though couldn't help but let a grin slip through as we walked out the doors of Crestwood High.

The two of us sped down towards a corner and turned, the atmosphere suddenly feeling crisp and clean despite the hot sun's rays. We talked about our day, complained about teachers, and gossiped about boys before Charlotte made a left turn. "Sorry," she apologized upon noticing the hurt look that crossed my face, "I can't join you at the treehouse, have got to study, finals are tomorrow."

"Fine," I said. "Hang loose."

"You too," Charlotte smiled. "Don't have too much fun tonight."

"I'll try not to."

Parting, I watched her wavy blonde hair bounce along her shoulders, and felt a surge of envy. Everyone loved her blonde locks; they always seemed light and healthy. While my straight raven hair fell lazily to my chest. It was bland and looked greasy most of the time. I raked my hands through the dark strands before heading towards an all too familiar road.

As I approached the treehouse, I spotted a figure sitting against the tree's trunk. It was Gordie; reading what looked like a textbook. A small smile I couldn't conceal tipped the ends of my mouth as I proceeded forwards, my steps speeding up just a bit until I stood beside him. "Already done studying for finals I see."

He looked up, his brown orbs meeting green. "Almost," he replied in return and gave a casual shrug. "I still have to read for English." He folded the corner of his page as a bookmark before closing the text. "What about you?"

I raised a delicate eyebrow. "What do you think?" I teased.

He grinned in response. "Nothing but psychology I suppose?" he said, obviously not agreeing with my lack of trying.

"Yup," I scowled, feeling dread slowly creep into my stomach. I tended to procrastinate, and my grades were rocky, going up and back down repeatedly. At that point in my life, it wasn't the fact I hated academics; school just seemed like a drag. It's just the same routine over and over again, nothing exciting ever happens, well once in awhile a fight would break out, but even those were rare. "I'm going to pass only half my finals."

Gordie shrugged. "As long as you pass your classes." He stood, placing his books neatly in his bag before straightening up to his full height. Through junior high and two years of high school, he had grown so tall I had to subtly lift my chin just to look him in the eye. He even stood just some inches taller than my twin, Christopher, who had already passed me up in freshman year.

Actually all four of them, including Teddy and Vern were taller than my five foot seven self. The four of them loved harassing me about my height, saying my reactions amused them.

Gordie opened the latch, a cheeky grin spreading across his face. "Ladies first."

I rolled my eyes, but flashed him a smile of appreciation as I climbed up into our little house of freedom. It was the only place where we could let all guards down and just be ourselves.

The latch or opening of the treehouse had expanded over the past four years. We were older, taller, bigger, and needed the capability to fit through the hole in the wood. Once both of us got through, we lay our bags down and shuffled around on our hands and knees, trying to find a comfortable place to sit. Moments later, we were leaning against one side of the wall, sitting with some space between us but close enough for our legs to loosely intertwine.

Back in 1959, I recalled the kiss we had shared, how it was short and sweet, yet so innocent. Only at the young age of twelve, nothing became of that night, and things returned back to normal. But I noticed Chris keeping a closer eye on our interactions every time the four of us got together, yet he knew to keep his distance and only confronted me about his suspicions a couple years ago. Now in 1964, we held a mutual agreement to respect the other sibling's privacy and relationships with others, just as Gordie and I now shared a mutual feeling of care and affection.

"Think Vern and Teddy will show up?" I asked Lachance while picking off some crumbles of dirt on my shirt.

He thought for a moment. "I don't know, they haven't really shown up lately, sort of, but not much." He nudged my leg with his knee, then playfully bonked it. "Have you talked to them recently?"

I shook my head in response before bonking his leg back, smirking. "No. Besides they aren't in any of my classes, we make small talk while passing in the hallway though." I thought about those two, like Gordie said, we haven't seen them for awhile now. In fact, we hadn't talked much in the past two years. Now only three of us filled up the treehouse's space; Chris, Gordie, and me (with the occasional Charlotte).

"Did you know he got a job?"

My head jerked up. "Who?"

"Teddy." Gordie spoke, his tone nonchalant. "He fixes cars at some junk yard."

I blinked twice, rolling over Gordie's words. Duchamp wasn't the kind even known to work hard. "Why is he working?"

"He said something about low family income. I think he wants to help his aunt out since his old man and lady— " Gordie paused, his eyes flicking toward me before muttering, "kicked the bucket."

I felt my stomach clench, and a familiar sting of pain shot through my heart. Three summers ago Chris and I came back home from sleeping over in Gordie's backyard, only to discover our mother flat dead on the kitchen floor, a shattered alcohol bottle near her hand. The meds said it was alcohol poisoning that did the trick.

Chris had broken down that night and cried for two days straight before finally hauling himself back together with a heavy heart. But I on the other hand was in shock, and slowly crept into this phase of silence. For a week, I watched over my brother, until I was positive he wouldn't go anywhere near Dad's stash of alcohol to ease the pain. Gordie, Vern, and even Teddy did their best to comfort us, since no one else was around to do so.

But when Chris recovered, I however had drawn into myself so much it took weeks for my brother and friends to coax me out.

I was mad, outraged actually at the world. And yet I felt the sensation of drowning, water pressing up around my lungs until I snapped.

Our father was already a mess and became more dangerous by the day. Our mother was the only one who could relatively get him sober for a few days despite her own addiction to alcohol. She was the one that fed us, cleaned up behind us, and made sure he never physically abused us.

But then she was gone, just like that and my mind was in a lock of terror. Who would make sure our father didn't kill us the next day? Our family came from a long line of trouble makers, drug addicts and alcohol abusers, so family was out of the question. Gordie's parents (well father) hated us, no matter how many times he tried showing how great we were, and relying on the Duchamp family also fell out of the question. Finally, Vern's family was kind enough to take us in, but even then, I hadn't spoken a word to anyone.

It wasn't until weeks later did I find myself wailing in my sleep, and woke up with a tear soaked pillow and Chris banging loudly on the bedroom door. Afterwards, with my brother's reassurance and having a nice hourly chat with Mrs. Tessio, Vern's mother, about moving on, I finally accepted the fact that my mother was never coming back, and I wished her the best, hoping she was in a happier place.

The only problem was, I hadn't let her go. Everyday I wished she would return, or at least send me a sign that she was okay.

"Tess?"

I jumped from a warm touch to my knee and the call of my name. Looking up, Gordie's hand was resting on my leg, worry flickering through his eyes. "I'm sorry," he muttered.

But I shook my head, cracking a smile. "Don't apologize, I'm fine, just thinking."

"Good," Gordie stated. "Didn't wanna lose you there again."

I managed a laugh. "Hey that's behind me, there's nothing to worry about." That was a lie, but I was determined to believe my own bluff, for awhile anyway. But the boy, or should I say young man, who sat before me wasn't the least bit convinced.

So to drop the subject I kicked his leg, knocking it aside only to be followed by an amusing game of footsie, which quickly lead to wrestling on the floor. It was awkward to move so much in such little space, but we hardly noticed, laughing as we battled for dominance. We struggled for a moment, one side light yet agile while the other strong but slow. This dance for me was too familiar, since as kids we would tussle about in the grass. All of a sudden I found myself facing the floor, a heavy weight trapping me against rough wood.

"Give up," Gordie's low voice growled in my ear, his warm breath descending down my neck. It was distracting and I shook my head to clear it.

"Never," I panted and mustered up all my strength, pushing upwards to feel the heavy weight lift and before he could rise, I strangled his waist. "One, two, three," I muttered, holding him down then relaxed, knowing I had won, feeling smug. Suddenly he surged up, his face millimeters away from mine. My breath hitched; he was so close it took all my will strength not to scramble away. Instead I froze, not moving a muscle as I realized just how intimate our position had become.

"Gordie?" I whispered, and began to lift off him, but froze again when he pressed a hand against the side of my waist.

He searched my face carefully, his eyes roaming until they met my forest green ones. "Don't mo —"

A sharp rapping noise cut him off, and we both scrambled away from each other, sitting on opposite sides of the wall.

"Chris, that you?" I rasped and cleared my throat, hoping it didn't sound too groggy.

His voice from below was heard. "Yeah, let me in!" Once he climbed up and settled beside me, he gave each of us a cigarette, but we never lit them. They just hung from our mouth, the action altogether relaxing. "Can't wait for school to end," Chris groaned. "I swear I'm gonna go crazy if tomorrow doesn't come soon enough."

Pushing all thoughts from moments ago aside, I nodded, relating to my brother's pain. "Man, I want the final bell to ring already."

"You studied for finals yet, Chris?" Gordie asked.

Chris nodded. "Not much, but got Government and Economics finished." The two talked some more, and I silently analyzed them, thinking how much they had grown.

Both of them had filled out a bit, their muscles toned but not bulky since they were thin and tall, like someone had stretched them out slowly over the years. Their hair, Chris' blonde and Gordie's brunette, had grown out more and was combed back, their parts' to the side. They lost the baby fat around their face, and became more handsome over time, attracting girls left and right. But they hardly dated, keeping more to themselves and only hanging out with their friends, me included.

Despite my height, I had noticed one day while passing the bathroom mirror how I had grown some curves but stayed thin over the years from playing sports with my brother. He and Gordie played a lot of basketball because of their height, and I would join them whenever I had time to spare. My hair, unlike most girls who had pretty waves cascading down their shoulders, mine stayed stick straight, no matter what I did with it. I had given up trying to tame it in the current style and just let it hang naturally, avoiding the disgusted glares from the in crowd. But my clothes haven't changed, I borrowed most of Chris's jeans and shirts, not giving a care if that was "unacceptable" for a young lady like me. They were easy to move in, even comfortable.

"Where's Eyeball?" Gordie asked, and his expression changed to curiosity when Chris and I simultaneously glanced at each other.

"He moved out," I said and grinned widely. "Don't ask where but he and Ace's gang have been leaving down often. College was never on their agenda anyway."

"Plus, they got no future," Chris chimed in chuckling. "Think Eyeball won't last very long out there in the world, but maybe he's tough enough."

Gordie scowled. "He's such a jerk though. I'm sure he'll end up in jail or something."

I laughed. "Wouldn't be surprised if he did, or Ace, or any of them." I lay down on the ground and sighed, smiling happily into nothing but the metal top of our tree house. "I'm just glad they won't be harassing us this summer, those fucking jerks."

Everyone laughed at my comment, adding in a few unpleasant ones of their own.

We stayed like that through the whole afternoon until it was time to go home. But Chris offered to take us out for dinner, and we took the generous offer, later finding ourselves munching on some burgers and fries.

_If this is how the rest of summer will go_, I thought, smiling at a joke Gordie had said and watched Chris snort milk out from his nose, _I'm not complaining._

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**If you have any questions, write them in a review or PM me. But if they are questions that will be answered in the next chapter or so, I won't respond.**

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	3. A Smoke In the Stars

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_RRIIINNNNGG!_

Students rushed out the door as I pushed through towards my locker, opening it for once with enthusiasm and grabbed all the crumpled papers that had been shoved to the back. No sooner had Charlotte arrived did we toss them into the air, cheering along with the mob of students.

We had done it. School was over.

No more finals, homework or tests!

The two of us waited by the steps, looking into the mob for a familiar blonde and brunette. "I see 'em!" Charlotte called, pointing at two tall figures who appeared out from the thick of pupils.

After they crossed over to our side, we four walked down, turned that same corner, and headed to our special place. We almost skipped, you know, walking a little faster, running across streets, stopped for some coke and headed back out, laughing. It felt like forever since I felt that alive, that joyful, that careless. The energy rushed through my blood, and I felt alive, truly alive.

"Did ya hear about Lucy?" Chris asked as we settled in our tree house, and handed over a few pieces of gum.

"You bet," I responded, wrinkling my nose in disgust as I popped the stick of mint gum in. "Some asshole knocked her up."

Charlotte gagged. "I'd like to know how that happened."

Three pairs of eyes stared her way.

"What? Oh no, not that!", she objected, blushing hard. "I meant who and why?" It was, I admit, a very good question. Even I didn't know the details that lead to the inconvenience.

Chris grinned, shooting her a devilish smirk. "Michael Shots, house party."

My eyebrows shot up. "How the hell do you know that, man?"

"I was invited. So I went."

Pausing, I thought about any recent nights when he wasn't accompanying me. "Oh you mean last Friday? The night when I had to watch Dad myself?"

My brother immediately looked guilty, and nodded, ducking his head. "Yeah that night, sorry Sis."

That date was unpleasant. Details are not needed, but Chris had gotten enough harassment that night, so to let loose, he went to that house party which had risen up a block down from our house.

Since Chris woke up that morning at the same house with a pounding headache, he knew nothing of my adventures back home.

"Chris, nothing happened that night," I confessed. "Our Old Man just passed out cold." It was the truth.

"You swear?" Chris pushed.

"Yeah, man." I nodded. "He shouted, screamed, punched a few walls, zonked out." He relaxed, expression of worry dissolving.

A hard rap from below was heard, and we scrambled up, opening the latch to find Vern and Teddy, smiling like the adorable dorks they were. "Ya still got room up there?" Teddy drawled, popping his gum.

Chris echoed his smile. "Don't know, we might've already filled up your spots."

"You better have not," Teddy scowled. "You can't replace me."

We laughed inviting them in.

Actually it got a little cramped, even though we had expanded the tree house by a couple of feet, six people was pushing the limit.

"I should go," Charlotte announced, and started climbing down, dragging her bag along with her.

"You're not staying?" I inquired, feeling a bit disappointed once again.

She nodded sadly. "Sorry, Tess. But my father wants me home before five o'clock."

"Your old man a strict one?" Gordie spoke up, eager to know he wasn't the only one in town with a strict father.

Charlotte nodded once more. "Boy he is, but that's his way of caring for me."

Gordie scowled, obviously not satisfied with her answer. Again, his father didn't give a damn about him. I reached out to rub his arm, feeling his muscles tense, then relax under my touch.

"Bye then," I frowned, waving at Charlotte who was already on the ground. "Is your schedule empty enough to see you later?"

She nodded. "I'll see about it, you know how my family is."

I smiled sadly. "Of course," and watched her until the end of her brown shoes disappeared.

"What have you guys been up to?" Vern asked, hair slicked back and wearing a white button down. He had over the past year lost some weight, and shot up a foot. So had Teddy, who ditched his glasses for contacts with the little money he had saved, and still carried that rugged bad boy look he owned so well, his dirty blonde hair combed messy and ragged. To my surprise, he even caught the eye of a few girls at school, but he payed no attention.

In response to Vern's question, Gordie said, "Trying to find scholarships," he joked, making us laugh. "You?"

"Job interviews," Vern admitted. "Harder than you think." He paused, thinking some more, then his mouth spread into the largest grin I've ever seen. "I got a girl, ya know?"

"You do?" Chris gawked, then laughed. "Gimme some skin man, what's her name?"

"Sheryl, real sweet. Nicest lady I know," he bragged, swiping palms with Chris. "No offense, Tess."

But I didn't care, his girl's name had caught my attention. "Wait a minute, Sheryl? Sheryl Leanne?"

Vern nodded, his grin spreading wider if that was even possible. "You bet."

My jaw dropped. "She's a cheerleader, Tessio! How'd you snag her?"

He wiggled his eyebrows at me. "With my charms, good looks, and intelligence."

Teddy snorted. "Your intelligence? Or ya mean your stupidity?"

Some things never change.

"Can't you say something nice for a change?" I whined.

He shrugged. "Sorry Tess, no can do. I gotta reputation to keep up."

I rolled my eyes, not wanting to argue. "We love ya, Duchamp," I said, voice laced with sarcasm, and gulped down the last few sips of my can of coke.

"So guys," Gordie piped up, earning our full attention. "As tradition, every beginning of summer we camp out. Where are we goin'?"

"Jerry Park."

"Done that."

"The woods."

"Done last year."

"The beach?"

"Too crowded."

"The end of Castle Rock?"

We all stopped short, looking at Chris. "Come on guys, that hill we walked up before hitting the tracks, remember? Come on we gotta do that!"

"Yeah but, Chris," I said, "there's no flat land."

"Sure there is, the field we walked across before that. Perfect place man!" His eyes lit with excitement, body almost bouncing in anticipation.

We all thought about it. It was a pretty hot idea, the grass was low, the property far enough from the roads for some privacy. The only drawback was the trains coming and going nearby. But that was a little something to sacrifice, knowing we would probably stay up all night and crash just before dawn.

"I'm in," I said, throwing my arm around Chris, who copied my gesture.

"Sure."

"Awesome."

"Real cool."

It was settled. The plan was to meet there at seven o'clock with food, bedrolls, matches, flashlights, and only extra shirts and undergarments since we could wear our jeans all week.

At six forty-five, Chris and I went out with our stuff and some change to buy some steak, bread, and fruit at the nearby store, then headed over towards our destination. Meanwhile Teddy, had gone to the woods so he could collect wood for a fire.

Later, we all arrived around seven ten, and made a large circular spot for the fire by digging into the ground and tearing out any grass nearby, not caring if it was someone's property or not. Then we laid our bedrolls out, surrounding the fire's center, but not too close. Once the fire's flames seemed to lick the sky, we cooked and bit into our food with watering mouths, all the while catching up with Vern and Teddy.

Vern, as he said, got himself a girl. He was so in love, said he was gonna marry her right after graduation. "Isn't that a little soon?" I asked, "at least wait a year before proposing."

But he waved me off. "Nah, that's wasting too much time."

Teddy on the other hand joined a gang recently, even carried a pocket knife around. But his grades were still high (which was a shock), and still wanted to join the Vietnam war.

Now here's a little something about that war. We were running out of soldiers, and boys started getting drafted real quick, and later into the years if you weren't eighteen but somewhere around the age of sixteen and up, you could volunteer. The ingenious idea of guns and exploding bombs excited boys to no end.

If only they knew.

Chris and Gordie and Vern had no such desire to volunteer, but if ya got drafted it was sort of hard to avoid battle. Though there were ways, someone later on told us that if you got yourself a lawyer, you could avoid the drafts. Luckily enough, Gordie in the future had a lawyer, didn't really need him, but that's a story to tell later.

So there we were, smoking and eating up the last bit of s'mores and lying around the fire, staring up at the star filled sky. They were like bright lights winking at you, as if to say, "Come join us, you know you want to."

If only we could.

"Hey guys," Gordie cut the silence, his voice soft. "We're seniors now."

My thoughts came to an abrupt halt and I looked over at Lachance, cigarette in hand. But I didn't say anything, just stared at him. He was right. We were finally seniors. Only problem is, I wasn't sure what to do after that.

"What's your plan, man?" Chris asked, eyebrows up.

His best friend shrugged. "Go to college, get a master's degree in literature and writing, become an author, you know?"

"Have you thought about settling down?" Vern asked, ignoring Teddy's outburst of laughter.

Gordie froze. He sat up straight, the rest of us following his moves, suddenly intrigued. "Settling down? Ya mean like getting married and all that?"

Vern smirked evilly. "What'cha think I meant?"

Switching his gaze to the hot wood that still held a few flames, Gordie muttered, "I'd thought about it before, but things might change. You never know with that sort of thing." I watched his eyes dart towards Chris, and the two shared a jerk of a nod before disconnecting. If you ask me what that meant, let me tell you I had no idea until later that summer.

Somewhere around three a.m. we had crashed, our minds abruptly shutting down from fatigue and weariness. Then around six to seven a loud roar burst through the silence, and I, without opening my eyes thought back to 1959; the train had woken us up that morning too. But this time, we all relatively fell back asleep, not waking up until some crazy old man yelled at us about sleeping on and tearing up his property (the grass remember). We bolted with only minutes of packing before the cops came around, all the while cursing out the mad man.

The time was already half past two thirty in the afternoon.

In town we went our separate ways, Chris and I returning home to a drunken father whom we stepped over while entering the kitchen. He didn't wake up until hours later, screaming about some nonsense before taking a weak swing my way. With practice I dodged his arm, but was frightened enough I escaped and hid upstairs while my brother tried to calm him down.

I only had to imagine what went on down there, it wasn't hard.

I heard footsteps nearing my room, and I quickly shut myself in the closet, hoping he wouldn't find me there. The doorknob squeaked as it turned, the wooden door opening, and I held my nose, trying not to breath as rustled up dust surrounded my face.

"Girl? I'm sorry! Daddy's sorry!" I felt a familiar pinch in my chest, then a ball of tears threatened to overflow. I held my breath, knowing if I let go, I would burst like a dam. I hadn't cried since Mom died, and now, things were about to break. So there I stood, hiding in the closet, feeling tears weep down my face as I tried desperately hard not to sob,my palm covering my lips. I was sick and tired of feeling guilty and the dread that filled my stomach every time I stepped foot into my house. Ironic you know, your house, home, is supposed to be a safe haven; safe haven my ass.

He kept yelling out sickening empty apologies after another, and finally gave up, realizing I wasn't going to appear, and stumbled out the door and into his room. I heard the bed springs give way, notifying me that he had collapsed and fallen unconscious once more.

I quickly wiped my tears, making sure I looked presentable. Hoping my eyes weren't red.

"Sis? You okay?" Chris's soothing voice echoed off the walls minutes later, and I sighed in relief, my eyes closed for a moment, relaxing.

"I'm fine," I gasped, stepping out of my hiding spot, not even bothering to close the doors behind me. Chris stood, tall and tense, his face scrunched up in worry.

"He didn't touch you right"? he asked, checking to make sure I wasn't hurt. He definitely noticed my sore eyes, but didn't say a word.

"No he didn't."

I looked up at him, scowling to notice a bruise already forming on his right cheek. "Jesus Christ, how many times has he hit you?" I ran my finger tenderly over the darkening spot, making him hiss.

"Three overall this year."

I swore. "Think we could stay at Tessio's tonight?" I hoped Vern's mother would gladly take us in, but to my disappointment, Chris shook his head.

"She and Mr. Tessio are out on their anniversary."

I cursed again. "Of course it's in the summer."

Chris laughed. "Cheer up. Most likely Dad won't wake up until night, so we can now — " he stopped, taking a glance at his watch. "Damn it's already six thirty!"

It's amazing how fast time speeds at home.

I chuckled. "Dinner it is then," I said and pushed my brother out towards the staircase, me following suit.

Now here's something funny; I couldn't cook. I wasn't terrible, but watching over three burning pots and pans just didn't get along with my focus. But I helped my brother out as much as possible, even if I sucked at cooking. Chris used to joke I burned water.

While cooking and eating, we made sure to keep the kitchen doors closed as to not let the smell roam up to my father's nose. Secretly we were hoping to just starve him to death, but obviously he would eat when no one was around and hog everything in the refrigerator.

Now you're probably wondering how we still have the house.

You see, our father wasn't drunk twenty-four seven, he just drank on the weekends. During the week he would actually go to work and stay sober enough to manage his job, thus getting by with enough money to keep the house. He worked in a bread factory, always coming home and smelling like flour, dough, and smoke.

But during the summer, he drank and smoked whenever wherever he liked, the bastard.

My brother and I only small talked while eating. But during that time I was hoping he would answer my question about the little head nod he shared with Gordie the night before. His answer was only, "Don't worry about it, just an inside joke." I suspected there was more, but didn't push him. If he didn't want to share I would find out eventually. I felt an evil grin cross my face; I was so nosey.

Before bed, we took pity on our father and left him some dinner just so he wouldn't wake us up in the middle of the night howling. As we left the kitchen, I eyed the food, envy poisoning my heart for a moment. "Let him cook his own meal," I protested, shaking my head.

"You serious right now?" Chris glared my way.

"Fine," I pouted, urging to stomp like a child but not wanting to wake my father. "But someday I refuse, absolutely refuse to feed him." My voice was stubborn and hard.

Chris walked to the living room but stopped, about to ascend up the dark mahogany stairs. "Tess, do you love him?"

I stopped, the question throwing me off track. He was my father, but did I love him? Even I wasn't sure. My emotions were too mixed and fuzzy. "Perhaps, when he's sober that is. But there are days when I just wish he would drop dead." Looking up at Chris, I expected him to agree, to my surprise, his face had a mask over it, impassive as ever.

"I guess," was all he muttered before leaving my sight.

**Can't wait to write the next chapter! Fans will love it!**

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	4. Nightly Visits

**HELP! So I don't know whether to end my full story with Stephen King's original book The Body or the movie ending.**

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Something kept me up that night. Was it the stench of alcohol or emotional weariness, I didn't know. The stench quickly got too strong, and I pushed the bedroom window open, allowing the lukewarm night air to flow in.

I lay back down, the pillow removed and thrown against the closet to allow more breathing room, the air's humidity making the place feel like all oxygen had been sapped out. _Go. To. Sleep._ I demanded my mind to calm down, but like usual, night was when thoughts I wouldn't even think about during the day surfaced. Like my future, or Chris's future. My mother, my father, I also needed a job, senior year, etc. etc.

_Oh. My. God. Sleep!_

I counted sheep, counted potatoes, counted to two thousand. But alas, my head would not sleep. Even worse, I felt my blood start to race and tingle, adding extra adrenaline.

I snapped.

Jumping up I pulled on some stretchy shorts and grabbed a sweatshirt and without even bothering to put on socks, I pushed my feet into dirty converse then jumped out the already opened window.

I just ran, that was it. I just ran and ran, not sure where I was going, but I needed to get out of that stuffy old place and take a time out.

The market zoomed by, next the apartments, then the library, and the church, the school, and even the drugstore. I never stopped, only paused a millisecond when a car honked as I raced across the street. A few people I passed gave me funny looks as I shoved them out of my way, but I didn't care. I was free, and for some reason running out in the dark made me feel less frightened and more dauntless. My feet took me down familiar neighborhoods, the houses whizzing by as I barely gave them a glance. I even noticed my girl friend's home but didn't stop to chat. Before I knew it, I turned right at a corner, raced down the street, then turned left to halt right at a house.

There were three colors on that house. The bottom level was painted a faint teal blue, then the other half that held the balcony, was a light gray, almost white. The roof held black tiles, but they seemed almost gray compared to the night sky. Along my left was a clothesline, and to my right was a garden that looked it had recently been tended to.

I stood there, breathing hard. Inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale.

When my breath finally caught, I maneuvered over to the pillar that held up the house's top half, and with practiced moves, climbed up the pillar about two feet (it was thin and short), and tightening my legs, reached up to grab ahold of the balcony, my hands gripping hard onto the rough top edge. With a grunt I pushed off from my legs all the while pulling up with my arms. I sat with each leg on either side of the balcony edge, taking a second to enjoy the scenery.

Moments later I swung my right leg over to join my left, and hopped off, landing with a soft thud. Head low and on the balls of my feet, I moved forward, trying to be as quiet as a mouse tip toeing on cotton. Ignoring the wooden door that clearly gave away the entrance, I went straight towards the first window on the right, kneeled down, and gently rapped on the window.

No one answered. So I rapped again, this time a little harder, enjoying the cool glass against my knuckles.

The window slid open.

"Couldn't sleep?" Gordie yawned, his voice deep and raspy as he rubbed his eyes awake. His hair was a bit messy, sticking up in odd directions and I couldn't help but chuckle under my breath. He blinked for a moment then glanced up at me with a scowl. "Tess, you can't keep coming here in the middle of the night."

I swallowed, a bit taken aback until I saw the teasing glint in his eyes. "You love it," I replied and quickly but carefully slid through the window, cautious as not to make too much noise. Gordie stood aside, giving me enough room until I stood my full height.

"I'm in deep shit if anyone catches us." Gordie warned, eyes sweeping the room. It was something he always said when I came uninvited. "We've been at it for three years now."

I knew he didn't mean to sound so suggestive, yet my face flared up and I was thankful to still be standing in the shadows.

Since 1962, my father's drinking got worse, it was hard to think that was even possible, but when my mother passed away to only leave behind nothing but a ghostly presence, the alcohol bottles had started stashing up in the house quicker by the hours. The stench became stronger, the atmosphere tighter, and tension ran high, off the walls if you will.

Then one night, my father hit me; not just Chris, but me. When he realized what he had done, he tried apologizing, but I just ran up to the bathroom ignoring his desperate calls as I found a wash cloth, dunked it in ice cold water and pressed it against my throbbing cheek. All the while out of habit held in my tears for as long as possible, until I could feel my body shake with silent sobs.

That night, was the first time I alone escaped the hell hole and ran to the first person I could think of. Since then, I had been over to the Lachance's uninvited about ten times already. But who's counting?

Back to current time, I kicked my shoes off and unzipped my sweatshirt to reveal Chris's favorite old tee, he loved it so much he wore it practically everyday. It used to be so big, now it fit perfectly.

Gordie sniggered. "Nice shirt, Chambers," he chuckled quietly. "Is it new?"

With a hand to his chest, I pushed him back down on the bed, smirking. "Would you like it as much, Lachance?" I whispered and lay down next to him, heat waves radiating off his body, but unlike when alone in my little hot stuffy room, I wasn't bothered by the warmth.

We situated ourselves until I was on my half of the queen sized bed, and Gordie stayed on his. We were so close, I wished I could just snuggle up and press against him, but knew that might be crossing a line. Back then if a woman shared a bed with a man and there was no marriage, you were considered a disgrace, and loved ones would disown you leaving you in the care of nuns. If you fornicated, let us say one person would not only be disowned, but the partner would be shot dead. So I stayed obediently on my side, watching the young man that lay inches away from my skin close his eyes in exhaustion, already asleep, his breath light and short, blowing softly on my skin.

Somewhere along that time, I fell unconscious.

I aroused slowly, a little cold even if the air was warm. Slithering my hand along the side of my waist, I realized the sheets had been subconsciously tugged down during the night. First one, then two, my eyes peeped open, slowly, trying to block out the light showing through the window. But it was still early morning, and the sun had just peeked out from the hills, painting the sky a nice pink and purple with only a few clouds hanging around. It was so beautiful, I just lay there on my side for who knows how long, a hand tucked under the side of my head as a pillow, and watched the sun come up slowly into full view. But when it did, lighting up the sky with a fiery touch and sending its rays pouring through the room, I was a little sad, having enjoyed the tranquil moment and wished it wouldn't end.

A sudden shift on the bed jerked me out from a daze, and I froze, listening to the sheets sweep against each other until the sound stopped. I felt a cool breeze graze my neck, and then another light breeze, and another. It didn't take long to realize Gordie was close and facing my back, his steady breath hitting my skin. I suppressed a shiver, waiting to sense if he was awake or had just shifted in his sleep.

It took a moment.

First, I barely felt it; just a brush testing the waters. But within a few moments I could feel gentle fingers caress the point between my neck and shoulder. His light touch trickled over my shoulder blade then slid down to my waist, intertwining his fingers with mine as they came to a stop.

How was I still breathing? How?!

Pathetic. That's how I felt, pathetic. His touch shut my brain down. It's very sad.

His hand slackened it's grip, and I knew he'd fallen back asleep.

I waited a few minutes.

Slowly, ever so slowly, I slipped my hand away, and quietly sat up, head in hands, the fog clearing. But my stomach was in a whirl, churning.

Having someone love me, like romantically love was hard to imagine. I didn't really know or have love, besides Chris, who was family and blood. I had friendships, close as siblings, but not love. It was almost foreign to me, and it hurt. Every time I looked at Gordie, talked with him, laughed with him, or just being in his presence brought sadness, yet joy, great joy. I never wanted our moments to end. But for some reason, I was afraid of love, even Charlotte told me there's a reason. "Love can shatter your heart to pieces, but don't forget that's not always the deal." She told me during a sleepover. But I knew my fright had a deeper reasoning, I just didn't like thinking about it.

Now I turned, glancing at Gordie over my shoulder. He looked so peaceful, so comfortable, I wanted to curl up and press against him — I didn't. Instead I leaned down to press a kiss to his jaw before standing up to tie my shoes. Just as I lifted the window up to escape, his voice, deep and groggy made me stop. "Leaving already?"

Hands on the windowsill, I glanced towards him. He sat there, the sheets thrown back, white tank contrasting with his beige skin, hurt and confusion written across his face.

Not being able to face his pained expression for long, I turned back and leaned my forehead against the window's edge, sighing in conflict. _Come on, Tess. At least say goodbye._

Within a couple of strides I crawled over to his side, the bed sheets feeling light and scratchy against my skin as Gordie pulled me towards him. For awhile we both just sat there, my back leaning against his chest, his arms loose around my waist and the rest of his form curled around me until I truly had to leave.

"Where were you last night?"

That was the first thing Chris spoke when I returned home.

He stood there leaning against the door frame, arms crossed and wearing an unimpressed frown. After I told him where I had been, (since I couldn't lie well to my brother it's impossible), he didn't move an inch, his face an emotionless mask.

"How long have you been doing this?" Chris inquired, his voice flat.

"Since freshman year."

His expression didn't change, but a flicker of lashes betrayed his anger. "You guys haven't done —"

"Of course not, that's — Jesus Christ no!" I could feel my face burn, but I stubbornly faced him, not giving a damn if my face looked like a tomato. "Look," I said quickly, sighing in frustration. "I've been going over there since Dad hit me, and I can't even step into my own fucking house scared to death because who knows what he'll do!" I felt sick, humiliated, and guilty.

"You could've at least written a note," Chris sighed, running his fingers through his hair, exasperated. Little by little, he let his guard down, making sure not to start spearing me a hundred questions. His breathing quickened, then slowed, quickened, then slowed.

We just stood there by the door, both too proud to leave first.

A moment later he finally stated, "You don't feel safe here?" I could easily detect the sadness in his voice, and felt even more guilty. His mask had fallen to reveal grief...I cringed.

Exhausted from arguing, I walked into the living room and crashed down onto the beat up old couch. "And you do feel safe?" I asked, head in hands.

A weight dropped down beside me and his arm threw around my shoulder like he would do as kids, and leaned in. "Obviously I don't feel safe," Chris muttered. "But things could be worse," he whispered, "things could be worse."

"But Chris, you don't understand, I'm so paranoid," I spoke a little louder, annoyed, making him recoil. "I don't ever want to step foot in here, but apparently that's not a choice," I hissed, kicking the sofa beneath me. "I want out, I want out Chris, I feel like an animal in a fucking cage!" I shouted and quickly stood, going back outside to sit on the porch as to not wake up my father with my voice. My brother followed suit.

"Well what do you wanna do?" Chris demanded angrily as he stood before me. "You can't just run away from home because that is the last thing I need."

"What?"

"To go around desperately searching for you in who knows what town or state," Chris was breathing heavy and he flopped down where he stood, flattening the grass. "Because if you do go," his voice was softer now, tender like usual, "realize I'm should be with you every step of the way."

I could feel my eyes water and immediately swallowed, not wanting to appear weak.

But of course, Chris noticed, and sat beside me on the porch, rubbing my shoulder. "And if you do go without me," he continued from before, "I will chase after you just to be by your side. We're twins, we don't let the other get lost without it's other half."

I lost it, silent tears running down my cheeks.

Chris hugged me to him while I cried in his t-shirt, making a shit of a mess but he didn't care, just sat there with me to comfort what was left of my anger as it slowly drained away.

Then I got an idea.

It was so brilliant I shot away from his embrace, catching him off guard and stood up in excitement. "Road trip."

He shot me an annoyed look. "What the hell are you talking about?"

I smiled widely, brushing away my tears and said, "That's what we're going to do this summer, a road trip."

Chris looked dumbfounded . "To where?" he asked, perplexed.

I laughed. "I don't know, anywhere! Besides who cares? And we can bring along Lachance and Tessio! I don't know about Duchamp because of his job, but it'll do." I was so excited I was practically bouncing on my feet, hoping Chris would agree. "Please man, you gotta say yes!"

"Yeah but Tess —"

"You've always wanted to escape this town." I interjected.

His eyes flashed, not from anger but shock. "How do you know?"

I sighed, sitting beside him once more. "That night in the woods, four years ago. You spilled everything to Gordie." I nudged him playfully, earning a nudge back.

"You were eavesdropping?" He looked angry now, but knowing he couldn't change anything, he stopped and threw his glare to a nearby tree. "I knew you were awake!"

"Not intentionally," I quickly said, tugging on his arm, becoming the once again annoying sister. "But you were so heartbroken, I couldn't fall back asleep." I tugged on his arm a little harder this time, earning the evil eye. "Don't look at me like that," I snapped, feigning a scowl. "Look this is a chance to leave Castle Rock for at least a bit, and I know you're dying to jump at any chance that throws your way."

He still glared my way, not saying a word. My hope dropped and reality set back in. "Fine," I sneered. "I was hoping to do you some good, not just me, you, but nevermind then."

Quickly, I walked back inside our home and was already halfway up the stairs when I heard his voice call out my name. "Tess! Wait!" He jogged into the room, smiling. "You got me. I'm in."

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**Now we're talking, things are rolling, and I promise you this story is about to get interesting. Stay tuned!**


	5. Get Out of This Town

**ATTENTION: I made a few change here in this chapter because I was talking to someone who lived in the 60's, and they said some things I wrote wasn't very realistic, so it's not much. I just changed some introductions and the motel they teens are staying at this first time around.**

**So here it is; the real fun has begun.**

**Note: Listen** **to Carrie Underwood's song _Get Out of This Town_. It fits the chapter perfectly — no joke, it's flawless.**

**Sorry I haven't updated earlier, apparently fan fiction won't let me copy and paste from google docs.**

**Instagram: arosequartz **

**Tumblr blog: arosequartz**

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"How slow can you get?" I whined towards Chris, stomping my foot with impatience like a child as I watched him haul a bag full of food into the car's trunk. "We don't have all day!" We were all packing our things into the car; Teddy's car. Okay that's not exactly true. Since he worked for some junkyard, they let us borrow a company car until the end of summer. It was real nice, especially since they let us off with only fifty bucks to repay them. Fifty bucks back then was actually pretty expensive if you used it on clothes, food, stuff, and all that jazz. But you use it on a car and man you got yourself a deal.

We could all go, except for Vern. His mother wouldn't let us take him, no matter how much we pleaded and begged. She was worried we would get him drunk, go to clubs, bars, lose his innocence, and even though we lied and said it was just a cruise, she didn't let him off the leash. Teddy just about didn't come with us either, saying it wasn't worth it, but since his boss told him to "Let loose," in which I have no idea what that meant, Teddy, with reluctance decided to grace us with his presence.

I was so jazzed about the whole trip, it took a few days to persuade our father (since we asked when he was sober) and especially Lachance's parents, but in the end, they said it was cool. (Honestly I think Gordie's father secretly didn't want him in the house anymore).

It was Saturday early morning when we left.

My brother and I have been saving up our money for something like this. Even Teddy's job dough helped us out a lot.

"Shotgun!" Teddy cried as we all raced towards the car. Everyone groaned, he was always the fast one to call dibs. But this time, I wasn't letting him have it.

"No way man," I shouted, struggling with him to sit in the seat. "You get shotgun all the time, let the woman have her chance!"

Gordie burst into laughter, holding on to the car's hood.

"Whoa whoa, guys!" Chris yelled over our bickering. "I'm the driver with the license," he said, pointing to his light blue shirt. "I get to pick who's sitting next to me." We all froze, tension high in the air. "Okay," he sighed, and I knew who he was going to pick. I couldn't stop the smile that crept it's way along my face. "Teddy."

My face fell.

"What?! Oh come on!" I glared at my brother, hoping he would just melt under my gaze. "I'm your twin, family before friendship."

Teddy smirked up at me, already sitting in the prince's spot. "Just get in the back bitch."

I threw him the bird, earning it in return. "You're such a dick, Duchamp." But in the end, I sat in the back with Lachance.

As we drove, I could feel my eyes drooping, having to get up at six in the morning was not cool. "Hey Tess," Gordie gently tapped my arm, breaking me from my sleep. "Don't fall asleep now, you'll miss the part when we drive out Castle Rock's gates." He was right, after all, it was my idea to leave town.

Zooming through our little town, I recognized so many people. Like the barber at Perfect Cut, or Nancy in the Nail Salon, Jenny and Mike from the market, who sold the most crispy apples you could ever bite into. We stopped to grab some coffee from the drugstore and saw Mr. and Mrs. Bennings waving to us from the library's wide windows, and we smiled at Carter, the mail boy, who gave us our morning paper.

_Good Bye_, I thought and smiled. I would miss them, but looked forward to what patiently waited on the road.

Chris stepped a little harder on the gas pedal and we passed the welcoming gates. I felt a load of bricks raise from my shoulders; I smiled, lying my head on Gordie's shoulder.

We drove through hills which shown an array of green colors, the early sun had risen high enough in the sky to beat down on our skin, the car windows rolled down. My hair was a mess, but I didn't care. I was happy, truly happy, for what felt like weeks.

At first, we didn't have a destination, we wanted to drive into the unknown, but Lachance's mother made up one on the spot. "Go to LA and visit your Aunt and Uncle," she had told her son while I sat with them at the table. Much to his father's protest, Gordie had invited all of us over for dinner. He said it was for celebrating "senior year and all".

So here we were, cruising down the freeway, the radio cranked up loud and singing along to all the familiar tunes.

"What's the time, sis?" Chris asked from behind the wheel around noon. I heard his question but disregarded it. I was supposed to be asleep, and I wanted it to remain that way for a few more hours.

My head, still on Gordie's shoulder trembled along with his chest as he gave a low chortle. "Man, she's asleep."

"Oh," I heard my brother mutter. I could clearly imagine his face, red with embarrassment and nose stuck a little in the air. "Gordie, what time is it?"

"One fifteen."

Silence.

"Think we should stop for lunch?" Teddy's voice broke through, and he cleared it. "Ahem, I'm starving."

"Sounds good," Gordie said. "Where to?"

"Anything's good with me," Chris said and I pictured him shrugging. "Seriously I could eat a whole cow."

_Ew._

A few laughs broke among the three, and then I felt Gordie's hand gently sweep away some hair that had fallen across my face. "Tess, you hungry?" I stayed silent, hoping he wouldn't push for an answer so I could continue my nap. But his mind was already made up as I felt his fingers trail down to my shoulder. "Tess, come on, wake up." He shook my shoulder, gently at first, then with more force.

_So much for more hours of sleep._

I opened my eyes, blinking to adjust my site to the sunlight that invaded my blurry gaze. I felt the warmth shift beneath me, and Gordie's face came into view. "Hey you, once your brain's clear I'd like to say we're getting lunch," he teased, and I smiled slowly about to respond when someone's hand waved in my face, accidentally hitting my nose.

Recoiling, I turned to hiss, "That wasn't necessary, Duchamp. I'm awake!"

Cackling was heard from the front seat, and Teddy snickered arrogantly, "Just checking your reflexes. Jesus Christ girls are slow!"

If I wasn't strapped in, I would've jumped his sorry ass. I stayed quiet, glaring at his windswept sandy hair.

"No response?" Teddy voiced, looking forward towards the road as genuine surprise made his eyebrows furrow. "That's a first."

_Watch your back, Duchamp._

Right then, Chris pulled up to a small Denny's side restaurant, and parked the car.

I watched Teddy step out, then quickly followed, ignoring Gordie's outstretched hand. I got out my side of the door and raced around the car to tackle the unsuspecting boy.

"Okay, okay stop!" Teddy shrieked, struggling under my weight and blocking my attacks. He could have easily reversed roles, but had enough sense not to lay a finger on me with Chris nearby.

"When — will — you — learn — Duchamp!" I growled through each punch, going for his shoulders, but aimed the last two at his face. Before I could lash out any more someone hauled me off him.

"Let go." I barked, slipping from Chris's hold.

Teddy jumped up, shaking his limbs and cracking his knuckles. "Whew, thanks Chambers," he directed towards my brother. Then he turned towards me again, and muttered. "Fuckin' dyke."

I socked him hard, this time hitting his nose, hearing a satisfying crack.

Gordie grabbed a hold of my arm before I could lunge again, his lips brushing my ear as he said, "Stop. The message is sent."

We both knew Teddy would never _get_ the message, yet I relaxed, looking around to realize all the scuffling had created a scene.

You're probably thinking I dramatized my reaction to Teddy's unpleasant comments. I hadn't lost control like that in years since my early teens, but he was the only one that could make me love him yet the next minute hope he would drop dead. The rest of the time, I tried hard to act mature, and smart, and intelligent, and humble, but when you've been hanging around a bunch of boys since you could remember, you never really lose that feeling of wanting to physically punch a particular hated person when angered; livid was a better description.

Near the late 50's and early 60's, feminism became very serious, and things slowly started changing, too slow actually. Did you know back then if a woman got raped by her husband, it wasn't illegal and the judges saw it as consensual sex? How fucked up is that? Rape only became illegal in all fifty states around the early 90's.

Again; fucked up.

Back if a woman was seen as a tomboy, or acted tough, people assumed they were gay without hesitation. In fact, the words "dyke" and "lesbo" or "homo" were used in place of the word "gay". "Gay" was used in a later time.

Quickly we went inside to find a table and sat down at a booth beside the windows. A nice young lady with an apron on came to take our order, and we ordered up, then impatiently waited.

I found myself gazing out the window, looking forward to what lay ahead but trying not to become too hopeful, because in the end, you just become disappointed. A plate of spaghetti dropped under my chin. I muttered a thanks to our waiter and slowly began picking out the noodles from the bottom. I watched myself, fascinated as the red sauced covered noodles wove around my fork like you wove up bundles of yarn. I lifted the food to my mouth, took a bite and closed my eyes, savoring the delicious taste of sauce, noodles, and Parmesan cheese.

We ate mostly in silence, creating small talk and adding a few side conversations such as LA, the food, and senior year.

"It's time for us to rule the school!" Teddy announced, resting his head against his hands, leaning against the booth. "I mean think of how many pranks we can pull on the rookies."

I gave him a sideways glare, not impressed by his enthusiasm to do such a thing. "As exciting as it sounds, I'm gonna have to remind you what happened last year."

"What do ya mean 'what happened'? Nothing happened."

Gordie took a bite of his sandwich, shaking his head. "Actually remember — sorry, oops," he paused to chew his mouthful as I gave him an amused glance. Swallowing, he continued, "remember what happened to Ranjel's pranksters?"

"Oh, that?" Duchamp chuckled. "That prank was nothing. I don't even know why the pranksters got suspended."

Chris scowled. "They put shaving cream on her hair, remember? Yeah it's funny but incredibly cruel."

Unlike Teddy, I certainly did remember that awful day. _Before_ April Fools, there were rumors going around that the seniors were going to shave off any underclassmen hair with shaving cream. _On_ April Fools, Charlotte was one of the unfortunate victims of what the seniors called a "Friendly joke".

"Whatever," Teddy drawled. "The joke was lame."

We kept silent, shaking our head in disgust.

Afterwards, Chris paid for our food and we all took a bathroom break before hopping back into the car.

"Shit man, it's boiling in there!" I whined, whipping my hand back, yet I reluctantly swooped in the heat filled car, slamming the door behind me with a bang.

"Chris," Gordie said, already feeling sweaty. "Turn the air conditioning on."

The windows were rolled down as well.

We drove on through the night, stopping only once because Chris got car sick, and appointed Gordie to drive.

Everybody was sleeping, I was sleeping, dead to the world, my head on Teddy's shoulder as Chris sat in shotgun. Dreaming, I saw a blue tree grow, winding up and breaking through the clouds to sweep the sky. I began to climb, carefully watching my footing as I had no ropes to hold up my weight. Slowly, cautiously, I climbed, climbing all the way up to where I could just touch the clouds.

My foot slipped.

I was falling.

Waking up with a jolt, a truck's horn blasted my ear drums, and the car took a dangerous and deep swerve to the left before swerving back to the right lane.

"What the fuck!" My brother cried out, awake now, holding onto the door's edge. "What the hell was that, Lachance?!"

"Sorry, sorry, I'm so sorry," Gordie rambled. "I'm falling asleep."

"Let's stop for the night, yeah." I said, but there was no question. Looking around at the freeway's signs, I noticed one that directed us towards a hotel. "There, next exit," I pointed right to a yellow sign that said _Gateway Motel upcoming exit_.

"Cool with me," Gordie smirked through his weariness. He turned off the freeway, drove down the exit, and the motel was a block ahead. Once the car was safely parked and secure, we only took our cosmetics, clothes, and our pajamas with us, all packed up in one small bag.

"Hmm, tsk tsk," the man behind the front office sighed as we checked in. "Sorry, I only have two rooms left for the night, not four."

We all looked at each other. "Okay, we'll share then," Chris decided, there was no other choice.

The man behind the desk tossed him two keys. "Have a pleasant night."

"Thank you," I called over my shoulder as we took the elevator up to level two. I glanced at the keys in Chris's hands. Each key had a number on it: 245, 246.

"Heads up," my brother warned as we stepped out the elevator and onto the aisle. A key flew my way, I caught it, bemused.

"Uh, Chris?" I asked, catching up to his side. "Why give me a key? I thought _we_ were sharing rooms." It was the most logical thing, we were siblings, we were blood, we didn't have to worry about germs.

He glanced my way, then stopped, motioning for the other two boys to go on ahead. When they were out of earshot, he pulled me just some feet away and whispered, "I'm letting you sleep with Lachance tonight."

I stood, shocked. "Chris that's ridiculous, I'm not — "

"Emphasis on _sleep_," he interrupted. "And if I don't hear any funny noises through these thin walls," he chuckled as I cuffed his shoulder, "then I'll consider you sharing a room with him for the rest of the trip. You dig me?"

Watching his face carefully for any signs of bluffing, I stood there dumbfounded. "You sure," I inquired, raising a dark eyebrow and feeling skirmish. "Because usually a brother would hate sharing his sister, much less a twin."

He sighed, agitated, running a hand through his blonde hair. "I'm sure, you seem to like his company better."

"Bullshit."

"Bull true," Chris snapped. "Look, when we fought a week ago, I now understand why you'll sneak out to his place, and I thought, if you still want to, you could be with him again."

I stared his way, questioning his decision. "You sure?" I repeated, a little hopeful flame inside my chest. "You won't regret this?"

"As long as I don't hear anything through the walls. So ya dig?"

I grinned. "Yeah."

Catching up to the others, I saw Chris quickly whisper into Lachance's ear, and gave him a reassuring nod. His friend chuckled, and they closed the deal by skinning it.

It's a handshake that never fell out of style.

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***Smirks*, we all know next chapter will be F-U-N.**


	6. Sweet Melody

**I'm going for weekly updates now. School is pressuring but I promise way more updates during the summer.**

**Tumblr**: arosequartz

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Key in hand, I gently inserted it through the lock, turned, and heard a soft click. Pushing the door open, I peered inside the room, first entering the small hallway, passing the bathroom to the right, and a closet to the left, then got to the main room.

There was a drawer with a small TV and radio. A telephone sat beside them, a business card by it's side.

There were two queen sized beds laying next to each other, a small bed stand with two lights separating them. Their dark rust colored sheets contrasted with the ivory walls, and running my hand over a blanket, I was surprised to find the material not scratchy in the least. It was smooth yet soft, the comforter was even made out of light material for the hot season.

Overall, the place was small, but legit.

"Seems adequate," Gordie voiced who had followed closely behind. I silently nodded, still processing the unfamiliar atmosphere, but satisfied.

Choosing the bed next to the open window, I set my bag down beside the nearby wall, opening it up to pull out my night clothes. Hearing Gordie mutter something about taking a quick shower, I nodded again, not looking his way and sat down on the bed, my mind suddenly racing.

I turned on the bedside lamp.

I wasn't talking much, feeling nervous and light. Perhaps it was the lack of sleep, or the time (which was already one thirty a.m.), or just knowing that I was sharing a room with Lachance. I had Chris's consent, which was crazy because no brother back then would ever let their sister share a room with another boy, much less a best friend.

_He trusts both of you to not do anything stupid. Think of it as a sign of maturity._

Breathing in a gulp of air, I banished all stressful thoughts to the back of my mind, and reached up to close the window curtains. I changed into some shorts and tank top, deciding to take a shower in the morning.

The shower currently was still running, and I blushed from a few guilty thoughts that surfaced. Shaking my head, I grabbed my cosmetics and maneuvered towards the bathroom door, my stomach fluttering.

I stood there, trying to release any anxiety before I gently knocked.

"Yeah?" Gordie's voice floated through the door.

Leaning my forehead against the wood, I closed my eyes, tense upon realizing I wasn't ready to answer.

"Tess, everything okay?" he asked when I didn't immediately respond.

_Suck it up, girl. _

"Um, uh," I cleared my throat, hating how foggy it suddenly sounded, hating the effect he had on me. "I'm gonna wash up, that okay?"

There was a pause, and for a moment all you could hear was the water hitting the porcelain tub.

Finally, he answered. "Sure, go ahead." If he was nervous his voice betrayed no hint of emotion.

Opening the door, I looked ahead to only see a curtain hiding his form, only the top of his head was visible. For some reason that thin barrier of material made me relax, and it was then I realized I had been shaking. Closing the door behind me, I set my cosmetics down near the sink, then tying my hair back with a ribbon (we didn't have hair ties back then), and grabbing a washcloth from the rack to my left, I washed my face and brushed my teeth. "Gordie? The blue washcloth is mine."

"Okay."

Taking a moment, I looked up at the mirror, but only saw my own blurry form staring back as the shower steamed up the glass. I tugged at the ribbon, letting my hair fall.

The shower water shut off.

I fled.

Back in the main room, I looked around, too tired to watch TV but somehow more awake than just thirty minutes ago. Deciding to turn on the radio, I flipped through some stations and stopped when the new Beatles song, _In My Life_, came on.

After some minutes of reading a book that was stuffed in my bag, the bathroom door opened, and Gordie stepped out in some shorts and t-shirt. His hair was still very damp, but he looked refreshed from the long day's drive. I dragged my gaze back and buried myself in the book, acting like I hadn't just been staring.

"Is this yours?"

Raising my eyes, I looked up from the book's rim to find him standing before me, the lamp light illuminating half of his face as he held out a white ribbon in his palm. I felt myself flush. "Uh, yeah." I cleared my throat once more, making sure my voice didn't sound too clogged. "Thanks," I muttered, taking back the ribbon and setting it aside on the bed stand.

He was staring. I could feel his gaze drawing patterns on my skin.

"Are you okay?" he asked after a moment. "You're a little quiet."

I ignored his question, pretending to read my book, already embarrassed by my own unusual behavior. My senses were alert, I could hear the cars drive past the window, the bed sheet colors suddenly became more vibrant, and a voice on the radio was just introducing the next song.

_"And up we have an older song, one by Elvis, called, Can't Help Falling In Love with You, here it is."_

_Oh fine, _I mentally groaned. _This is just fine._

_"_Dance with me."

I looked back at him, shocked. "W-what?"

"Dance with me," he repeated, a ridiculous smile spreading across his face. His hand, the one that held my ribbon moments ago, was still held out, but this time, it was for me.

"What? No," I lightly objected, laughing a bit, trying to ease my own tension. "I can't dance."

His grin twitched. "That, Theresa Chambers, is a lie and you know it."

It was true. We all, and I mean the whole gang, took required dance lessons years ago. Back then parents would push for their kids to learn how to dance whether they liked it or not.

"It's been ages since," I scowled as Lachance took the book away from my grip. He grabbed my hand and pulled me close. "I don't think I remember."

Instead of answering, all he did was pull me a little closer, so close, our chests were almost touching, and setting my hand on his shoulder and the other grasped in his hand, he lightly set his other on my waist. Our heads were close, and I resisted the urge to rest my chin on his shoulder.

_Take, my hand._

_Take my whole life too._

_But I can't help, falling in love with you..._

Now here's something you should know; I, back then got so uncomfortable with intimate touching — hugs were an exception.

Even now, when I look back, I realize I still am a little uneasy about touch ever since my father slapped me across the face while drunk out of his mind. It was traumatizing, and everyday just by the sight of him I subconsciously cringed in fear.

But no one, besides Chris knew that. We decided to keep it under wraps until I was comfortable with sharing.

So there I was, standing so close and dancing with Gordie, and my mind was battling out the impulse to run far away while I tried to keep my demeanor calm and relaxed. I was probably failing sense his grip on my waist tightened just a pinch, and pulled me if possible, closer. But he didn't say a word, his expression tranquil.

_Why did I agree to this again? We must look ridiculous dancing around in our night clothes._

Elvis's voice seemed to almost dissolve in the background but the words he spoke were loud and clear. My heart was beating so hard I was sure Lachance could feel it. As we slowly, carefully, paced our way around the main room, we whispered small discussions of the future to each others ears.

"Are you gonna try out for track next year?" I asked, a bit breathless, hoping my grip on his shoulder wasn't too stiff.

I felt Gordie nod. "Like usual."

"Long distance?"

"Mhm," he mumbled, nonchalant. Then switched the attention to me. He said, "What's your plan?"

Twirling for a moment, I laughed under my breath before he pulled me back in. "Well," I started, "Regarding there are no sports for girls — like usual, I don't really have a plan." I never thought much of what I wanted to do for school or the future.

Because what I wanted was deemed "inappropriate" for women.

Under my hand, I felt his shoulders shrug. "You can still play with us," he said, talking about the gang. "But really, what's your plan?"

"Gordie I just said —"

"Okay, forget about sports," he interjected, then added quickly, "I just meant for the upcoming year."

_Oh_.

"I signed up for Advanced Literature &amp; Writing with Advanced Psychology."

"You're gonna be a Psychologist?"

"Better than staying inside a house, right?"

He didn't respond, letting the last bit of Elvis's song sweep the room.

_Like a river flows, to the sea._

_Darling so it goes, some things are meant to be..._

Still slowly moving, Gordie halted us over the radio where he quickly changed the station to some classical music before continuing our little fun. I rolled my eyes but in the end decided to follow his lead.

The new tune was some unfamiliar piano solo, but the whole thing about it was slow, and romantic.

I was sure my heart would jump out from my chest then.

Somewhere around the solo's middle, I could feel my eyes closing, and letting go of all self consciousness, I rested my head on Gordie's shoulder.

I forgot the rest of that night. But the moments just before would forever be permanently tattooed in my memories.

A soft humming could be heard, and I felt myself stir, but my eyes stayed shut, as I listened to the hauntingly sweet melody. The voice was deep with a tone of happiness added to it. Still in a state between sleep and dreams, I let my mind wash me away to a never ending field, the grass cut low but still fresh. The scene was dark and beautiful, the sky above lit with thousands of glittering stars.

Suddenly the haunting melody got closer, and I turned to see if anyone was approaching me from behind. But there was no one there.

"_Tess_," the same deep voice whispered, I felt something brush my cheek, and whirled around to still find no one accompanying me. I became confused, and slowly, even afraid. My eyes closed, anxiously waiting for whoever spoke to come out of the dark.

"Theresa, wake up..."

I jumped, opening my eyes to see not a dark glittering sky, but a plain ivory ceiling. The sun shone through the side window, it's curtains still closed.

"Took you a while," I heard from beside me and turned my head to come face to face with Gordie himself. He let out a small smile, lying next to me, his hair a bit disheveled and eyes twinkling. "How'd you sleep last night?"

I shook my head, trying to rid off a foggy mind. "Just fine, why?" Yawning, I stretched, not caring what I looked like.

"You were mumbling in your sleep."

I felt myself blush. "Oh, sorry, did I wake you?"

"Yes," he muttered, "but I don't mind."

Steadily, I sat up, letting the covers fall down to my lap. Surrounding me were the bed sheets, but on Gordie's side, the sheets had been thrown off in spite of the summer night's air, revealing his lean form.

I blinked, having forgotten the last few moments of last night and I had once again slept at his side. I looked over at the bed beside me, it's sheets unwrinkled and left untouched.

Gazing back Lachance's way, I watched as he propped the upper half of his body against some pillows, leaning on the wall. He ran a hand through his hair, if not making it messier and yawned. Then he just stared, at me, his own gaze so intense I couldn't help but look away.

Feeling self conscious, I ran a hand through my raven hair, hoping it wasn't too much of a tangled nest.

We both just sat there, at different distances, so close, yet so far away.

A soft touch to my side had me glance down, and realized the tank top I wore had risen up a bit, revealing about an inch of pale skin. Gordie ran his fingers across my lower back, I felt myself subtly shutter as he caressed back and forth. If you ask what I'd been thinking, I would say, "Nothing," since my mind had pulled a blank.

Finally my brain caught up to what was happening and I was suddenly afraid. Quickly, I thought up an escape route. "I have to shower," I choked out and felt his touch disappear as I left to wash up like before.

If I had looked back I would have noticed his scowl of disappointment.

Around eight o'clock there was a knock at the door, and I opened it to reveal Chris in some grey jeans and a regular white tee. "Morning," he said and pushed me roughly aside as he entered the room. I felt my back it the wall painfully, and glared at him, unimpressed.

"Sure, go ahead, come on in," I snapped, sarcasm dripping from my lips.

He just flashed me a boyish grin before turning back to inspect the main room. His face fell as he saw the one still messy bed.

I opened my mouth, about to defend the suspicious scene but was cut off by Gordie coming out from the bathroom wearing light jeans and a blue collared t-shirt. A toothbrush hung out from the side of his mouth, showing he was washing up earlier. "Hher Chrishh," he said and quickly went to spit before coming back out again, wiping his mouth on a towel. "What's up?"

My brother glanced at him and looked at the bed with disgust.

"Oh," Gordie said, quickly catching on to his best friend's assumptions. He showed him the sheets. "See, nothing happened man, I swear!"

Chris looked my way, and I nodded in confirmation.

He started chuckling. "Sorry," he fell onto the unmade bed, still laughing. "It's just not the kind of sight a brother wants to see after he says, 'Yes you can _sleep_ with my best friend'."

Playfully Gordie swatted his shoulder which only ended up with Chris pulling him down onto the bed. The two wrestled as I stood there, highly amused and smirking at their. "You faggots."

The two froze and immediately flew apart, staring horrifyingly at one another.

"Hey," I said, a little more serious this time. "I was joking."

Now let me explain; I know what you're thinking reader. Back in those days, no one understood anything about being homosexual. People only started protesting for gay rights a few years later.

Ever heard of The Stonewall Riots in 1969? Look it up.

So I apologize now for being an annoying, immature teenager who was disrespectful.

But you should know, after the road trip there was a surprise waiting for me back home. I wasn't prepared for it, it really tipped me off track for a few days, but helped me understand a bit more about why gays felt so unloved.

Some minutes later, all three of us were waiting outside for Teddy, spread out around the car as the hot sun beat down on our heads. "Jesus Christ, man, what's the temperature I'm burning!" Gordie complained, sitting in what shade the car had to offer.

Chris shrugged. "The radio news this morning said something about it being ninety-four degrees out."

"Damn, that's hot," I cursed, pulling out the white ribbon from jean's pocket to tie my hair off my shoulders. But right as I held up my hair I felt someone grab the ribbon and replace my hand with theirs.

"Let me," I heard Gordie whisper. Not resisting, I let him gently caress my scalp as he pulled my hair back into a high ponytail. I held in a moan as he raked his digits through my hair, it was like getting a free head massage. As he focused I heard him humming, an awfully familiar tune, I could have sworn I'd heard it —

"Were you humming this morning before I woke up?" I asked, recognizing the voice and haunting melody I heard in my dreams.

Wrapping the ribbon around my raven colored hair, he muttered a "Yes," and something along the lines of "Why?"

I smiled surreptitiously. "Just wondering."

Gordie ran a finger down my cheek, letting me know he was finished tying the ribbon just as Duchamp stepped out the doors.

"Why so late?" Chris asked him as Mr. Crazy Head approached us. "Did the elevators stop working?"

"Nah," Teddy spoke, a smirk appearing. "Just wanted my hair to look good."

I glanced at Gordie and we burst into laughter. There Duchamp went, talking with his soft side.

"What? What did I say?" Teddy sneered, absolutely bewildered.

Gordie chuckled, "Nothing man, just get in the car."

* * *

**Next stop, we get — woah hold on, no spoilers!**

**I also wanted to add, that they say the word, "Man" a lot because that's how people, or teenagers spoke back then.**

**I hope you guys liked this. Hope it wasn't too cheesy. God I'm such a sap.**


	7. Chaos

**FACT: Strobe lights were a big deal in the 1960's. Yes, there were strobe lights in the 1960's.**

* * *

"Another drink, young lady?"

I looked up, a funny expression upon my face. "Sure, why not?" I slurred slightly, and hummed as he poured the whiskey into my shot glass.

"Tessi, Tessi!" Chris called out next to me, a little too loud in my ear. "How many 'ave you drank?"

"Two," I screamed back over the loud music that was blasting through the speakers. Looking him straight in the eye, or was that his nose, or forehead, I asked, "You?"

"Four," he moaned and turned to Gordie, who was just finishing up his last bit of whiskey.

"I got three man," Lachance laughed beside us, and slightly choked. I gave him a clumsy thump on the back, which only caused him to choke even more. Chris was so drunk he started imitating Gordie's choking noise, and gave his friend an extra hard thump to the back for good measure.

How did we get here again? Oh yeah, we were driving all day, stopping for lunch and dinner, and then Teddy decided to get a little hyped up (like he isn't already). At first, we objected, already tired and wanting to crash, but then he wouldn't shut up and pestered us none stop. So we complied; driving half asleep, bored, and trying not to crash we took thirty minutes down the freeway just to find a freaking midnight club that Duchamp so badly wanted to go crazy on.

Now, we were here; in a club called Chaos or something like that.

Teddy, who sat beside me, was so drunk he wobbled on his feet. How many drinks he had, I didn't know for certain. "Tessi, take your blouse off!", he shouted, and held onto the bar's ledge for balance. "We all wanna see 'em!"

Giving him my best glare (or was that my drunkest), I slapped him hard but laughed aloud at his priceless expression. "Stop calling me Tessi!" My stomach was hurting, it's muscles needing a rest, yet I couldn't help it and kept on laughing.

_Wait, wait, wait, hold on. Teddy's not funny! So why're you laughing?_

I snorted at my own amusement, ignoring the funny looks I got from sober strangers.

"Tessi, come dance with me," Gordie slurred, stumbling over his own stool as he stood up. "This song is amazing!"

it was funny when he said that, because the song playing, was Young Ones, by Cliff Richard, and it was just ending.

Crazy Teddy cackled his ass off, almost falling over. "What a laugh you are, Lachance," he gasped,and cracked up once more when Gordie feigned a punch his way. "Stepping out the door, huh?"

"That jokes too old," Chris defended his friend, but he was grinning like a fool.

Once Gordie was fully facing me, he held out a hand, saying, "Come on, Tessi, you'll love it."

"No way, Gordie Boy," I grinned at the made up nickname, "not on your life."

A wicked gleam appeared in his eyes. "You didn't protest much last night."

Though it was too late, I quickly slapped my hand over his mouth, looking wildly at Chris, who was scowling. "You danced with him?" he glowered my way, and at first, I was so sure a drunken lecture was rolling my way. But instead, a stupid grin spread across his face. He turned towards Mr. Kiss and Tell, smirked, and said, "Did ya cop a feel?"

Jaw dropping, my fuzzy brain worked for about a minute as I processed what my brother just said.

Gordie raised a suggestive eyebrow. "Almost."

I gave him the bird. "Bullshit, he was a totally behaved," I spilled, then smacked my hand across my mouth. I could feel the heat rise to my face.

_Boy, how much more embarrassing could this night get? Stop being stupid!_

Chris and Teddy were leaning against the counter, their chests heaving with laughs. I felt like crawling into a corner, but then a familiar song came on, and all humiliating thoughts were dismissed as the song's lyrics filled my brain.

_Love is a burning thing,_

_And it makes a fiery ring._

_Bound by wild desire,_

_I fell into a ring of fire_.

Wobbling just slightly as I stood, my hand snatched Gordie's arm and pulled before I could think up a reason why I shouldn't be pulling him onto the dance floor. Chris and Teddy barely seemed to notice our absence.

"Woah," Lachance gasped out, making me stop near the club's side wall, "what are ya doin'?"

I turned and looked up at his bewildered expression, the scene blurry and hazed. I stepped closer, our noses possibly brushing, and immediately his hands grasped my waist. "Dancing silly," I laughed and tried moving to the music's beat. But I found myself grounded to the spot, the strength in his arms freezing me into place.

Glaring, I said, "Gordie let go," trying to be as serious as possible but the whiskey made it almost impossible. All my senses felt sensitive, yet at the same time incredibly numb.

Suddenly he yanked my waist forward, so I was pressed up against him. "Not a chance," he whispered and pressed his lips on mine.

My head swirled.

A dull warning bell rang out somewhere in the back of my mind, but I decided to ignore it this time, and responded to the boy's kiss. It was harsh yet passionate, tasting like the drinks we had moments ago and we pulled apart to catch our breath, only to lean in once more. My hands raked through the strands of his brunette hair and felt him clutch the back of my neck, pulling me so close that I felt almost trapped.

Then I felt my back press against the wall.

_Well now I'm really trapped...holy shit I'm TRAPPED!_

"Gordie. Gordie!" I pulled back, pushing him away, thoughts transitioning from pleasure to panic.

A betrayed look crossed his features. "What? What happened?" he slurred, breath hot against my face, and leaned in, catching me in another kiss, but the warning bell was ringing loud and clear, emotions running high.

Escaping his grasp and taking a few steps away, I felt guilt pool in my stomach. "I'm sorry, I just can't," I pleaded, feeling my eyes water, and left him standing there, confused, frustrated, and breathing hard.

"Tessi! Where ya goin'?" I heard the familiar shout and slur of my twin, but dodged his reach and ran straight for the doors, yelling over my shoulder, "It's not Tessi!". My sight became fuzzy as I tried to choke down the wet ball in my throat. To make matters worse, the strobe lights had flickered on, my destination now harder to find as I blinked with every blinding flash and weaved through as many people (possibly knocked into a couple) as possible.

I burst out into the open, the fresh air cleaning my head just a smidge as I stumbled my way towards our parked car. It was only parked a block away, but it felt like a good fifteen minute walk in the crisp dark night. When I reached our junk of a car, I pulled at the passenger door, only to stupidly realize it was locked. I rushed around and pulled at each handle, and my heart rate slowed as the back door opened, and judging by the smoky scent that filled the spot, I knew it was Teddy's seat.

In a matter of minutes, I fell unconscious.

I woke up to the jerking motion of the car cruising down the freeway. I whined, and snuggled up closer to my pillow. The pillow beneath me moved, I was lying across someone's lap.

"Hey sis," Chris's voice cleared the foggyness from my head and I opened my eyes, only to groan as a sharp pang stabbed my brain.

A tender hand gripped my shoulder, rubbing it reassuringly. "Careful Tess, you had quite a night." Chris stroked my hair, soothing some of the pain. "Go back to sleep, we'll wake you for dinner?"

Okay, I thought drowsily. _Wait. Dinner! How long has it been?_

I began to sit up, but was forced back down.

"Theresa, rest, please," Chris demanded. But I refused. Reaching up I pinched his arm — hard. "Jesus Christ, Lady!", he jumped, throwing his arm away, I used that as my chance to sit up.

"God my head," I moaned, leaning heavily on Chris's side. He handed me a canteen full of water and I drank it, parched. Handing back the canteen, I just rested there against the back seat, allowing the car's rumbling to sooth my headache. Fifteen minutes later I asked, "How long was I out for?"

Teddy turned in his seat, and I realized he rode shotgun, with Gordie at the wheel. I quickly moved my eyes downward, the night's activities resurfacing. "Days Tess, you've been out for days," Teddy howled, and slapped me on the knee, I jerked back in disgust.

"No way man," Chris chuckled and wrapped his arm around my shoulders. "Don't worry," he mumbled to my ear, "it's only been about a full day."

I glared at the farm lands that sped past my window. "Feels like I woke from the dead," I grunted and fidgeted in my seat, stretching out muscles and snapping bones into place. As I watched the corn and berry fields slide by, I thought back to the intoxicated night.

We had kissed.

Still shocked, I ran the pad of my thumb across my lips, trying to recreate the feeling of Lachance's lips on mine. I closed my eyes, care and guilt rushing through my veins.

_If it wasn't for the whiskey, would I have let him?_

_Or to be accurate, would I have pulled away?_

The answer was easy — of course — I would pull away. Not because I wanted to, but because I hated the way my skin would seem to flare up under his touch.

But I loved it. I hated it, though I didn't.

Glancing Gordie's way, I wondered if he was as shocked as I felt. His face, focused on the road, gave nothing away as he made sure to watch the cars before him. I suddenly wanted him to react, I earned to know what he felt.

"Gordie?" I asked as nonchalant as possible, not looking his direction, "what happened last night?"

There was a heavy pause, and I dared another glance to his face. To my annoyance, he wore a hard mask, only glancing up once or twice to the review mirror and back again. "Nothing happened," he said in reply, voice carefully guarded. "Chris and I just dragged Teddy back to the car. He passed out."

Said boy snickered beside his friend, glancing amusingly at the others before looking out his window. "We all woke up in the club, and they got Chambers and Lachance here sober wnough to drag me out," Teddy cackled. "Ain't they nice?"

"Uh hu," I replied.

"Why'd you leave so early?" Chris asked, nudging my ribs.

Despite his worried scowl, I turned my head back to stare out the window. "It's not something I wanna talk about right now."

"Was it the strobe lights? Are you sick? Did someone hurt you?" my brother pushed, and I saw Gordie fidget at his last guess.

Setting a reassuring hand on Chris's arm, I lied, "I'm fine. I'm okay."

He didn't seem convinced, but didn't push it.

Dinner came around again and this time we just took some fast food with us and drove to find a small hotel nearby. Once we found one, like last time we only took two pairs of clothes, and our cosmetics. To my relief, they had four singular rooms. I was glad I didn't share with anyone, even Gordie for that matter, because I was fatigued and not in the mood to deal with anybody that night.

"I'll be right around the corner, kay?" Chris said as we settled into our own rooms. "You're invited if you need anything."

I yawned. "Thanks man," I said and pulled him into an embrace, needing comfort.

"Hey, you okay, for reals?" my brother pried, and whispered, "Is there something bothering you?"

For a second, I considered voicing what happened at the Chaos club, but decided against it and just nodded. "I'm fine, just tired."

He pulled back, disappoint reflecting in his green eyes, so much like mine. "I know you," he reminded me and frowned. "But if you won't say then I'll leave you to it for the night." Closing the door behind him, he left me sitting on the bed, almost falling asleep right then and there.

Pulling out a random pair of shorts and a t-shirt, I went off towards the bathroom in hopes of quickly washing off the scent if whiskey from my skin. Once I stepped out, I analyzed myself in the mirror. Ebony hair fell soaked around my shoulders, and my eyes had bags under them. Shrugging, I changed into my night clothes I set aside on the counter, and climbed into bed, my brain shutting off like a light.

I don't remember dreaming, but I woke up all sweaty and shaking, my limbs trembling from whatever scenario my mind had created. I checked the time; three twenty-eight. Longing to be by Chris's side wrenched my heart, so I silently sat up and stood on wobbly knees as I grabbed the keys to my room before opening the door to face the dark and silent hallways.

I'll be right around the corner.

I walked down the small hallway, passing the public restroom (some rooms didn't have toilets), feeling along the walls until my fingers felt a rough edge. Turning the corner, I faced three doors. Chris told me where he was, not which room he inhabited.

_Which one? Room 223, 224, or 225?_

Suddenly, a dark form appeared from behind the edge, and my heart jumped, almost cursing out loud. The form was tall, and it stalked forwards slowly, as if taunting me yet warily.

My heart beat so hard I was sure whoever accompanied me in the hall could hear it. It moved forward, slowly, carefully, skillfully, and I felt my back press against the first door. In a panic, I rapped my knuckles against the hardwood. "H-help!" I stuttered but froze upon noticing the form looming over my shoulder.

_This is it, I thought, I'm gonna die in a roadside motel._

_How pathetic._

The form drew a hand up and cupped my shoulder to slowly spin me around. I frantically looked anywhere but at the shadowy form. Then a hesitant touch tapped my chin, forcing me to look up.

_Shit_.

"You're blocking my door," Lachance said.

Relief swept through my stomach like a strong breeze, but still tensed. Turning away and embarrassed, I muttered, "Sorry," and stepped aside. Normally, if it were any other day, I would have punched him a few times then stalk off. But now, since the Chaos club incident, I wasn't sure how to act.

Entering the room, Gordie pivoted on his foot, hand on the doorknob. "Can I help you with anything?" he offered. I couldn't make out his expression through the dark, but his eyes sparkled amusement.

"No," I spoke, my voice weak.

He didn't blink. "Okay, night Tess," and began to close the door.

"Wait," I said, without even thinking.

The door opened a little wider. "Yes?"

"Uh," I started, and paused, "The club...just...well...you know." I just about huffed in annoyance, for he wasn't moving or showing me he knew about what I was clueing at and still wore the impassive mask to avoid showing any emotion. But it was the perfect time to discuss last night's events. Breathing in, I asked, "Um, can I come in, you know, for just a bit?"

He seemed to contemplate the request before opening the door a little more and stepping aside for me to pass. Sitting on the edge of his bed that was up against a wall, I looked around, noticing his room was a little bigger than mine. I scowled, jealous.

But the feeling quickly dissolved as Gordie plopped down beside me. The silence was deafening, and my thoughts were racing so fast I wasn't sure where to start.

"I know what you're here for," he sighed, breaking the tension. "And before you say anything, I want to apologize for my unexpected behavior, it was out of line and being drunk is no excuse. So..." He went silent, and I wasn't sure if he was done speaking or not. "I'm sorry."

It wasn't until I spoke when I realized I wasn't breathing. "Y-you're," I stopped, and cleared my throat, thankful for the shadows that hid my burning face. "You're forgiven."

He smirked. "That quickly huh?" I cuffed his shoulder. "Ow! Sorry."

I laughed, more out of nervousness. "In the club," I began, getting serious, "I was also pretty tipsy, and — sort of lead you on."

I saw his head nod, indicating for me to proceed.

"I-I regret pulling away," I choked, stomach squirming. "Actually, I feel terrible for just running off like that." Scenes from the night before flashed through my head, and I felt my eyes begin to water, my breath catching. "I was scared, God I was terrified but I know I shouldn't have been because the kiss was actually wonderful yet it frightened me and —" I stopped rambling, my heart beating brutally against my chest. I froze, feeling hot tears roll down my cheek.

Some things couldn't be helped. So many foreign emotions would surface when my guard was lowered and left me vulnerable.

I was intimidated and embarrassed, yet happy and relieved.

Slowly as to not frighten me off once more, Gordie brushed a few tears away before sliding back until he hit the wall, and gently, pulled me to him, his hand tugging mine as he curled against my back, setting us in a position we've been in so many times when I would invade his room at night. "Don't feel stupid," he said, voice muffled by my hair as he breathed in the fruity scent leftover by the shampoo. "I shouldn't have frightened you, and I did. Shit I'm sorry, I'm so fucking sorry." He continued to whisper apologies as his mouth grazed my ear and shoulder.

I couldn't help the small smile that spread across my lips. Lachance was such a gentleman, but his use of colorful language revealed his true lower class self.

Before I knew it, my head was lying on a soft pillow, the covers up to my waist as to not suffocate from the heatful night.

* * *

**No they didn't do it!**

**Well,****this was a rollercoaster to write. To be honest why I didn't update earlier was because I had writer's block for a bit.**

**Sucks right?**

**thanks for all who reviwed, I love ya all!**


	8. You Scare Me

**Yes I had writer's block. Yes I haven't updated in awhile. And yes, I will continue writing this no matter what. YOU CAN'T STOP ME! I DARE YOU!**

* * *

I sensed the sunshine on my skin. It warmed first my shoulder, then glided up my arm and reached part of my hand, for the other half was tucked under a soft pillow. The warmth continued to creep up along my neck then finally blinded my lid covered eyes.

Blinking a few times to adjust my sight, I yawned and stretched, while subtly acknowledging how much of a horror story my hair was. I self consciously ran a hand through the knotted chest length strands, trying to relatively tame it. But soon my arm got tired from reaching up, and surrendered to the aching pain in my bicep, the kind of pain you get when you've been raising your hand for too long because the teacher never calls on you. Bored, I slowly turned over to find myself facing his back, and blinked in surprise when I realized he was shirtless. _It must've been too hot for him last night_, I thought, catching sight of his t-shirt across the room lying strewn on the floor, as if he blindly flung it threw the dark, in need of cool air (but we weren't getting much anyway).

I grinned randomly. It had been two nights ago since he apologized for the Club Chaos incident.

We were now in Ashland, staying at some kind of affordable inn.

Staring at the crease of Gordie's back, I felt my eyes narrow, and a mischievous grin crept along my face. My hand slowly reached forward, playing with the ends of his brunette hair at the knapp of his neck, then trailed down to trace his spine all the way down his back until I felt him shiver under my delicate touch. My grin widened, basking in the knowledge of knowing what control I had over him. _And yet, he has the same over you_, my thoughts retorted, and I slightly scowled, reluctant to face the truth.

I felt the beige skin move under my fingers as Mr. Sleepyhead slowly turned onto his back. He suppressed a yawn, ruffled up his hair all the while making it messier, and peeked open one eye to glare suspiciously at me.

I smirked in return, all the while still having not moved my hand off his torso. "Morning Lachance," I teased innocently and playfully pat his stomach not so softly, slightly knocking his breath away. He tensed under my touch and his abs hardened a few seconds. I suddenly felt shy, and looked down, sliding my hand away.

A chuckle escaped his mouth and I scowled. "Stop laughing at me!"

Gordie's smile didn't drop. "You're funny, Chambers." Then he just stared, daring me to react.

A moment passed before I felt myself squirm under his penetrating gaze, and scoffed, "Come on, we gotta move, or my brother will have our asses."

• • •

We got up quickly, and met Chris and Teddy out by the car.

It was a long and boring morning. The car's vibrations lulling me to sleep until the radio was turned on. I had no choice but to stay awake.

"How long until we get there?" Chris asked Gordie, who was at the wheel, skillfully driving down the freeway.

"If we keep stopping for the night," Gordie began, flickering his gaze up to the mirror. "It'll be three days."

I grinned. "Not bad, but if we pull an all nighter, shouldn't be about two?"

Lachance nodded. "If you're up to it...you three up for it?"

My head swiveled around to face the two boys sitting in the back. "I'm up for it," I said, pitching my vote. "You two?"

"Of course," Chris grinned, then turned to Duchamp, who was frowning at the ground. "Teddy?"

Mr. Crazyhead said nothing, except, "I still can't believe she got shotgun."

I laughed, swatting his knee. "Oh don't worry, Duchamp, I'm sure you'll be able to beat me next time," I said in the sweetest voice I could muster. Then turning back around to face the road, I glanced at Gordie, who surreptitiously winked my way.

That's right. I finally stole the front seat.

And that night, we pulled an all nighter. Eating chips and fast food, chewing gum to stay awake, and singing any songs that we knew.

_Oh well, I gotta girl and with a record machine._

_When it comes to rockin', she's a queen_

It was 2:46 am and _Twenty Flight Rock_ had just come on. Chris got so excited he screamed at Gordie to turn it up, the result, we were now horribly singing as loud as we could to a song we hardly knew the lyrics too (back then if you knew all the lyrics to _Twenty Flight Rock_, that was pretty rad).

_When I get to the top, and I'm too tired to rock._

Ending with Teddy almost shrieking instead of singing, we ended in a fit of giggles (with Gordie almost running into the freeway wall, getting honked at twice). Once we settled down enough to breath normally, and our stomachs loosened, Gordie said, "It's been ages since I heard that song."

"Does anyone actually know the lyrics?" I asked with a sigh.

Chris chirped in. "Some guy at school named Kyle knows them, he would sometimes sing it for a few girls in the hallways once in awhile."

I laugh in amusement and lean against the back of my seat, gazing up in front of me at the dark sky, the stars dotting the sky, like a thousand white dots splattering black fabric. "This has been the best night yet," I comment and smile, caught up in the moment.

"What about the summer of 1959?" Gordie asked me and I turned to look at him, but he was still facing the road, impassive.

"What do you mean?" I asked. Sure it was a great summer, in fact it was one of the best summer's I'd ever had. "Yeah, that summer was awesome too, but I think this one takes the cake."

"Are you sure about that?" Gordie's tone suddenly became sly.

I hesitated, not sure what he was getting at, but by the way he was dangerously smirking, I wasn't so sure if I wanted to know. "Lachance, where is this conversation going?"

To my annoyance, he didn't respond and just kept staring at the road, the sly look never leaving his face.

When daylight rose above the hills once more, I noticed we were driving by golden hills. That was it, golden hills. The dried up grass looked hot and dusty, it's yellow grass making you squint, it was so bright. We continued on like that for what felt like hours, no one making a sound, half of us sleeping, one of us driving, the other lost inside her own head.

When we pulled in for the night, Gordie's reference to the night of 1959 finally dawned on me — I couldn't help but smile. For a moment, I wasn't sure if I should bring that up again, but I couldn't just let it float around in my mind, haunting me.

He let me take the shower first, and then we switched. It was 11:00 pm, and I could feel my eyelids drooping slowly. Just as I was sure to fall asleep right there, sitting on the bed's edge, the bathroom door to our mini stay inn opened, and Gordie walked out, wearing his usual shorts and white tank top as pajamas, his hair still very damp from the shower. "You're still awake?" Gordie asked in surprise. "I thought you would be asleep by now."

I chuckled. "And I was close to doing just that."

He looked down, embarrassed. "Oh, sorry."

But I shook my head, wide awake now. "No need to apologize," I said and scoot over as he slid in beside me. In our room, there was only one bed, but that obviously wasn't much of a problem. I pressed up against his side, and he threw his arm around me so I could rest my head on his shoulder. I didn't think neither of us wanted to go to sleep, me especially, because I wanted to talk about that night in 1959. "Hey, Lachance?" I muttered, and he hummed to show he was listening. "You were thinking of our first kiss, right?" I expected him to tense up, which he did, but oddly, I wasn't affected, and was surprisingly still quite comfortable, content.

"What are you talking about?" he finally answered, and I felt him glance down my way, observing me carefully, searching for something.

But I just gave a nonchalant shrug. "Last night in the car, you asked if that current night was better than the one summer's ago."

Silence filled the room after my last comment, and I was just moving away to lie down but stopped when his arm tightened and I looked up to meet his chocolate brown eyes. They held a familiar warmth, gazing at me like they'd been doing a year ago.

Back in sophomore year, Gordie and I had become quite close. Sure we were already best friends, not like him and Chris's brotherhood relationship, but it was different, a good different. Then when junior year came around, I noticed Lachance would look at me differently. His usual teasing and excited gaze would turn warm and soft every time he glanced my way, and I was honestly a little scared by how intense the gaze was. One look and my stomach would jump to my chest, and my heart would beat so hard I could feel everywhere, which made my blood rush through my veins, and I was never sure what to do, feeling my feet freeze on the spot. So the best I could come up with was to look away and focus on whatever situation was happening at hand, hoping he wouldn't notice the blush creeping up my face.

Yet there in that small room, with just the two of us, I felt a surge of stubborn courage, and held his gaze, waiting, waiting, waiting for something to happen. Nothing happened, so I took it upon myself to _make _something happen and muttered the first thing that crossed my mind. "You scare me, Lachance."

He grinned slightly. "I know."

I blinked. "You know?"

"Yeah, I see it all the time."

"Then why keep doing it?"

"I can't help it."

His words made me smile when another realization hit. "Do you scare yourself?"

Gordie answered without hesitation. "Of course."

"Do I scare you?"

"Always."

• • •

The last couple of rides to LA were bland. We did nothing but sleep, while still taking driving shifts every few hours. When we finally found the small hotel inn Gordie's mother had recommended, we quickly divided and settled into two rooms. The inn was nice and simple, with creamy walls and dark red edgings, including the carpet on the first floor. We all met up for breakfast at eight o'clock and discussed what we wanted to do on our first day.

"Well my mom just called this morning," Gordie said, chewing some last bit of eggs, "she said my Aunt and Uncle are anticipating our visit."

Teddy snorted in disgust. "Really, we came all this way to visit some old relatives?" He dropped his silverware across the table in disappointment, the fork landing with a tink.

I rolled my eyes. "Duchamp, that was the plan all along, remember, the night at Gordie's?" I was rewarded with a light tap of appreciation from Gordie's foot underneath the table. "Besides, we don't want to act rude and just blow off the visit."

Duchamp growled but said nothing. Yet there was a jump in his leg and his fingers twitched, exasperated.

Chris, who had been calmly observing our bickering sipped some orange juice before speaking. "We never scheduled an exact time though," he commented, and turned to his best friend. "What's the plan?"

We all faced Lachance as he summarized the plan quickly. "First, we visit my relatives. Second, they give us a tour around LA. Finally third, we have free time and can do whatever we want."

"But remember boys," I added quickly, earning simultaneous eye rolls from all three of them. "Though we could potentially spend the rest of our summer here, we might not have enough money to return home."

"Who wants to return home?!" Teddy burst out, startling a few unexpected people nearby. "This place is amazing! Think of all the trouble we could get into, our plans could be endless!"

Chris gave him an amused but firm stare. "Not if I keep a lookout for you."

"I'm older than you, Chambers."

"I'm the leader, dimwit."

Sighing at both their immature speech to one up the other, I stood up to clear my plate, but was stopped when Teddy said, "Wait a moment, Tess, clear my plate too." He was settled comfortably with his back against the chair, a content smirk playing his lips.

"You're shit, Duchamp," I snarled, ignoring the disbelieving gasps from the majority of the room. As I dumped my leftover food in the trash and set my plate into a bin of water and soap, some man with a button down shirt and tie came up beside me and said, "You should watch your language. LA is known for it's civil mannered women."

I clenched my fist, grasping onto the last bit of control I had. "I'm not gonna apologize for speaking my mind, Mister." His lip curled in a snarl, but before he could interrupt me, I added, "Fuck LA if it can't stand my mannerism."

_Slap!_

My head jerked violently to the side, eyes swimming as I stumbled back a few feet. Flashes of my father appeared before me, and I felt myself pathetically grasp ahold of the nearest table I could find. My heart beat brutally against my ribs, my breathing coming in gasps as I saw the silhouette of my attacker come near, but before it could touch me, it disappeared from sight, and I shook my head to clear the tears blocking my view. When they dissolved, I found the man on the floor, rolling painfully onto his back, grasping his side as he grunted roughly.

I could do nothing but stare blankly at his crumpled form until a warm grip encased my arm to pull my attention away.

"Gordie. Gordie! Chill man, the guy learned his lesson."

Blinking, I realized I'd been pulled out from the cafe and was now standing in the main hall. Chris, with his hands on Lachance's shoulders, was speaking fervently to his friend. Gordie's face was red, and he looked ready to beat anyone to a pulp in a heartbeat. His usual neatly combed hair was sticking up in random directions, and his fists were clenched, muscles flexed. Teddy was quickly explaining to a staff member what happened, while I stood alone, slightly dazed.

"No man, look, she's fine. She's standing on two feet. This isn't the first hit she's had to bear."

My head snapped in Chris and Gordie's direction, to find my brother's face fall with regret and Lachance's shocked one. I pressed my hand over my mouth, eyes widening. Remember when I said we never told anyone that my father hit me a few times before. But the truth was out, now we all waited breathlessly for Gordie's reaction.

After a long silent minute, Gordie's shocked expression turned to a calm but determined glare, and pushing aside Chris's hands, he stalked out the hotel door.

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**I'm so sorry for not updating in forever! I'm taking multiple IB classes this year, and being in my junior year, it's gonna clash with my writing schedule. I apologize again and hope this emotional chapter really makes up for my absence.**


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